Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137)
ex
 USAT General S. D. Sturgis (1946 - 1950)
 USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) (1944 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Charlie - Oscar
 NJCO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia or Europe clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (3) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) transferred to the US Army following WWII, reacquired by US Navy Military Sea Transportation Service
General G. O. Squier Class Transport:
  • Laid down in 1943 as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 660) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp, Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 12 November 1943
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 31 March 1944
  • Delivered, 10 July 1944
  • Placed in partial commission as USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137), 24 April 1944, for transit to her fitting out yard
  • Decommissioned, 25 May 1944, at Portland, OR.
  • Completed as a Naval Transport by Kaiser Co. Inc., Vancouver, WA.
  • Recommissioned in full, 10 July 1944, at Portland, OR., CDR. Duncan S. Baker USNR in command
  • During World War II USS General S. D. Sturgis transported passengers in both the Asiatic-Pacific and the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theaters of Operation
  • Following World War II USS General S. D. Sturgis was assign to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    2 to 26 September 1945
    1 to 9 November 1945
    16 to 24 December 1945
    1 to 3 February 1946

  • Decommissioned, 24 May 1946, at New York, N.Y.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission for transfer to the US Army Transportation Service
  • Commissioned USAT General S. D. Sturgis, date unknown
  • Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in 1950 and placed in service as USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137)
  • During the Korean War USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137) participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    28 to 29 September 1952
    8 October 1952    		 Korean Summer-Fall 1953
    31 May to 1 June 1953
    Third Korean Winter
    4 to 5 April 1953    		  

  • While assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service USNS General S. D. Sturgis was assigned to Occupation service in Europe for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Europe clasp)
                    1951                 1952             1953         1955
    12 to 16 March1 to 3 February18 to 20 January12 to 14 April
    9 to 10 April24 February to 4 March25 to 27 July13 to 15 March
    11 to 13 May30 July to 1 August21 to 23 August 
    4 to 6 June25 August to 7 September19 to 22 September 
    29 June to 1 July30 October to 10 November  
    5 to 7 August9 to 11 December  
    1 to 3 September   
    25 to 28 September   
    30 October to 1 November   
    30 November to 2 December   
    27 to 29 December   

  • Placed in reduced operational status, 28 May 1955, at New York, N.Y.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USNS General S. D. Sturgis earned three battle stars for Korean War service
  • Transferred, 22 August 1958, to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Merchant Service
    Transferred, 31 July 1967, to Gulf Steamship Corp., by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) (Trade-in)
    Renamed SS Green Port September 1967
    Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 6 February 1980, to Kai Sheng Steel Enterprise Corp., Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t.(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 16.5kts.
    Complement
    Officers 49
    Enlisted 451
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 230
    Enlisted 3,300
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 79,000 Cu ft.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 1.1" gun mounts (replaced by two twin 40mm AA gun mounts)
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 13,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Falk Main Reduction Gear
    three 400Kw 240V D.C. Ship' Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By / Source
    USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137)
    General S D Sturgis 89k
    Namesake
    Samuel Davis Sturgis (June 11, 1822 – September 28, 1889) was an American military officer who served in the Mexican–American War, as a Union general in the American Civil War, and later in the Indian Wars
    Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General S D Sturgis
    092213719    		 336k USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) departing Portland, OR. in 1944. Note: Mt St Helens is in the background to the right.
    U.S. Navy photo    		 Darryl Baker
    General S D Sturgis
    092213717    		 514k Post card image of USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) underway, date and location unknown. Note she is painted in camouflage pattern measure 32/13T.
    US Navy photo.    		 John Grey
    General S D Sturgis 42k USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) departing Manila for Japan, 26 August 1945.
    US Navy photo.    		 Medical Department, US Army "Surgery in World War II - Activities of Surgical Consultants Vol. II"
    General S D Sturgis 38k USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) at Yokohama in September 1945, behind the dignitaries she carried to Japan for the Japanese surrender ceremony. Australian War Memorial, photo ID Number OG3442 by Robin Laurie. Robert Hurst
    USAT General S. D. Sturgis
    General S D Sturgis 285k USATGeneral S. D. Sturgis arriving with returning GIs, from Germany, circa 1946 Pat Garrison
    General S D Sturgis 367k
    General S D Sturgis 350k
    General S D Sturgis 330k
    General S D Sturgis 330k
    General S D Sturgis 85k USATGeneral S. D. Sturgis moored pierside, Bremerhaven, Germany, circa 1949 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137)
    General S D Sturgis 70k USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137) underway, circa 21 March to 14 April 1950 enroute from Naples Italy to Sydney Australia with immigrants.(Note she is still painted in USAT service colors). Jim Szabo
    General S D Sturgis 58k Artist sketch of USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137) underway, date unknown. Bill Valashinas
    General S D Sturgis 71k USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137) underway, date and place unknown. William Zarkas, Retired MSC Boatswain
    President, MSC Retiree Association
    Merchant Service Central Gulf Steamship Lines
    General S D Sturgis
    092213720    		 185k Central Gulf Steamship Corp's freighter SS Green Port [Ex-USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137)] in the harbor at Saigon, South Vietnam, 7 April 1975 with South Vietnamese refuges on board.
    US Navy photo by PH3 J.L. Aswegan/    		 Robert Hurst
    General S D Sturgis
    092213721    		 190k South Vietnamese refuges climbing cargo nets while boarding SS Green Port in the harbor at Saigon, South Vietnam, 7 April 1975.
    US Navy photo by PH3 J.L. Aswegan/    		 Robert Hurst
    General S D Sturgis 59k SS Green Port moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany, August 1976. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    General S D Sturgis 95k SS Green Port moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany, August 1976. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    General S D Sturgis 181k SS Green Port moored pierside at San Francisco, CA. in October 1979, just prior to being scrapped. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    General S D Sturgis
    092212718    		 181k SS Green Port underway in October 1979 in San Francisco Bay.
    Photo by ©Marc Piché    		 Dirk Dijksman
    USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) / USNS General S. D. Sturgis (T-AP-137)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Baker, Duncan Scott10 July 1944 - 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Additional photos of General S. D. Sturgis among other sites and place at sgtdog's photostream
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 30 January 2026